In recent years, the circuit board industry has produced increasing quantities of add-in boards for LAN, WAN, and communication type applications. Thus, fewer D-SUB type connectors are being utilized on the boards and modular jacks, mini-pin B and C connectors and RCA type connectors are being used.
Consequently, the mounting of the circuit boards in the mother board and within the housing has become a greater problem since present mounts for circuit boards all entail the utilization of some form of manual securement of the mounts to the boards.
Various expedients have been utilized to mount add-in and other circuit boards to the computer housing. For instance, the most prevalent practice is the utilization of a mount consisting of a bracket having right-angularly oriented tabs incorporating fastener receiving holes. The circuit board is secured to the tabs by the insertion of screws through openings in the circuit board corresponding with threaded openings in the tabs.
Alternatively, the openings in the tabs are not pre-threaded and the screws inserted through the openings are maintained in operative relationship with the circuit board and tabs by means of corresponding nuts.
Attempts have also been made to rivet circuit boards to the tabs of associated mounting brackets, but the vagaries of the riveting process have militated against the acceptance of this method due to the unpredictable cracking and other damage imposed on the boards by the riveting process.
In any event, all of these methods entail the manual assembly of the brackets with the boards and, thus, prevent the utilization of currently accepted robotic processing which is characteristic of circuit board manufacture.